1962 Queen Elizabeth Stamps

Do you need a UV light to see the stripes. Trying to figure out if mine are 1954 or 1962.

Would it be correct to assume that by 'stripes' you mean phosphor bars?

If so, they, normally, are visible with the naked eye if you know what to look for. However, to be sure and to know which phosphor type it is, you need a shortwave uv-lamp.

You don't need a uv light. Just hold them flat, close to eye level, so the light bounces off the surface. You should see one or two thin bands running vertically down the stamp. That's your phosphor band.

By the way, you mention two very random years.

The 1954 stamps, actually, started to appear in 1952 and had the Tudor Crown watermark. These do not exist with phosphor bars.

In 1955, the new St. Edward's Crown watermark that appeared in the cipher of the Queen was introduced. Only the values up to 2d exist with phosphor bars. These, also, have graphite lines applied on the back.

In 1958, the 'E2R' was dropped from the watermark. This was done because the regional stamps were issued and Elizabeth was not the second Scottish Queen Elizabeth. These stamps exist with and without phosphor bars. The phosphor bars were issued from 1960 onwards. The 2.5 - 4.5d stamps exist with phosphor bars and graphite lines from late 1959.

So, if you have a 1954 stamp, it has a watermark that does not exist with phosphor bars.

Wildings can be very complicated.